Method for operating electronic device and electronic device for supporting the same

ABSTRACT

A method of operating an electronic device is provided. The method includes receiving, by a display driving circuit of the electronic device, main image data over a first channel from a first processor or a second processor of the electronic device, outputting, by the display driving circuit, a main image on a display panel of the electronic device based on the main image data, generating, by the display driving circuit, an additional image different from the main image, and merging, by the display driving circuit, the main image with the additional image and outputting, by the display driving circuit, the merged image on the display panel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application of prior application Ser.No. 16/865,971, filed on May 4, 2020, which is a continuationapplication of prior application Ser. No. 15/336,271, filed on Oct. 27,2016, which has issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,643,545 on May 5, 2020 and isbased on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of a Korean patentapplication number 10-2015-0149697, filed on Oct. 27, 2015, in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a method for operating an electronicdevice which outputs a screen via a display driving circuit and theelectronic device for supporting the same.

BACKGROUND

An electronic device such as a smartphone, a tablet personal computer(PC), or a smart watch may output a variety of content such as videos,images, and text on its display panel. The display panel may be drivenvia a display driving circuit of the electronic device. The displaydriving circuit may receive image data from a processor in theelectronic device and may output the received image data on the displaypanel.

The display driving circuit according to the related art only performs afunction of receiving image data from the processor and outputting thereceived image data on the display panel. The display driving circuitaccording to the related art does not generate a separate image or usesignals received from peripheral circuits.

Also, an application processor (AP) has to be repeatedly driven in orderfor the display driving circuit according the related art to output atouch-related image or output a second hand of a digital watch or ananalog watch, resulting in increased power consumption.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determinationhas been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide a method for operating an electronic device toreduce the number of times of driving an application processor (AP) bygenerating and outputting an image added to a main image at its displaydriving circuit and the electronic device for supporting the same.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method foroperating an electronic device to perform calculation of a second handusing its display driving circuit and to output an analog watch or adigital watch and the electronic device for supporting the same.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method foroperating an electronic device to quickly output a zoomed-in image for aportion a user wants using its display driving circuit and theelectronic device for supporting the same.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a method ofoperating an electronic device is provided. The method includesreceiving, by a display driving circuit of the electronic device, mainimage data over a first channel from a first processor or a secondprocessor of the electronic device, outputting, by the display drivingcircuit, a main image on a display panel of the electronic device basedon the main image data, generating, by the display driving circuit, anadditional image different from the main image, merging, by the displaydriving circuit, the main image with the additional image, andoutputting, by the display driving circuit, the merged image on thedisplay panel.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, an electronicdevice is provided. The electronic device includes a first processor, asecond processor, which is independent of the first processor,configured to perform calculation for a function, a display panel, and adisplay driving circuit configured to receive main image data over afirst channel from the first processor or the second processor, output amain image based on the main image data, generate an additional imagedifferent from the main image, merge the main image with the additionalimage, and output the merged image on the display panel.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronicdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of adisplay driving circuit according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for operating an electronicdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for operating an electronicdevice using a plurality of processors according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 5A is a screen illustrating a method for operating an electronicdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5B is a drawing illustrating a method for showing an additionalimage according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5C is a screen illustrating a process of outputting a cursor imageas an additional image according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6A is a screen illustrating a process of outputting a changedadditional image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6B is a screen illustrating a change of an additional imageaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6C is a screen illustrating a process of outputting an additionalimage on a specified range of a screen according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for extracting a partialimage from a main image configured with a plurality of images andoutputting the extracted image as an additional image according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a screen illustrating a process of extracting and outputting apartial image from a combination image configured with a plurality ofimages according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are block diagrams illustrating a configuration of adisplay driving circuit which performs time calculation according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronicdevice for configuring a watch of a second hand according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a drawing illustrating an implementation example of a digitalwatch of a second hand via a digital driving circuit according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a process of outputting adigital watch in a sub-display driving circuit according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a drawing illustrating an implementation example of an analogwatch according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of asub-display driving circuit for implementing an analog watch accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a drawing illustrating a second hand drawing method using aBresenham algorithm according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronicdevice in a network environment according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure; and

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronicdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functionsand constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

In the disclosure disclosed herein, the expressions “have”, “may have”,“include” and “comprise”, or “may include” and “may comprise” usedherein indicate existence of corresponding features (for example,elements such as numeric values, functions, operations, or components)but do not exclude presence of additional features.

In the disclosure disclosed herein, the expressions “A or B”, “at leastone of A or/and B”, or “one or more of A or/and B”, and the like usedherein may include any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. For example, the term “A or B”, “at least oneof A and B”, or “at least one of A or B” may refer to all of the case(1) where at least one A is included, the case (2) where at least one Bis included, or the case (3) where both of at least one A and at leastone B are included.

The terms, such as “first”, “second”, and the like used herein may referto various elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure,but do not limit the elements. For example, such terms are used only todistinguish an element from another element and do not limit the orderand/or priority of the elements. For example, a first user device and asecond user device may represent different user devices irrespective ofsequence or importance. For example, without departing the scope of thepresent disclosure, a first element may be referred to as a secondelement, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a firstelement.

It will be understood that when an element (for example, a firstelement) is referred to as being “(operatively or communicatively)coupled with/to” or “connected to” another element (for example, asecond element), it can be directly coupled with/to or connected to theother element or an intervening element (for example, a third element)may be present. In contrast, when an element (for example, a firstelement) is referred to as being “directly coupled with/to” or “directlyconnected to” another element (for example, a second element), it shouldbe understood that there are no intervening element (for example, athird element).

According to the situation, the expression “configured to” used hereinmay be used as, for example, the expression “suitable for”, “having thecapacity to”, “designed to”, “adapted to”, “made to”, or “capable of”.The term “configured to (or set to)” must not mean only “specificallydesigned to” in hardware. Instead, the expression “a device configuredto” may mean that the device is “capable of” operating together withanother device or other components. Central processing unit (CPU), forexample, a “processor configured to (or set to) perform A, B, and C” maymean a dedicated processor (for example, an embedded processor) forperforming a corresponding operation or a generic-purpose processor (forexample, a CPU or an application processor (AP)) which may performcorresponding operations by executing one or more software programswhich are stored in a memory device.

Unless otherwise defined herein, all the terms used herein, whichinclude technical or scientific terms, may have the same meaning that isgenerally understood by a person skilled in the art. It will be furtherunderstood that terms, which are defined in a dictionary and commonlyused, should also be interpreted as is customary in the relevant relatedart and not in an idealized or overly formal detect unless expressly sodefined herein in various embodiments of the present disclosure. In somecases, even if terms are terms which are defined in the specification,they may not be interpreted to exclude embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure may include at least one of smartphones, tablet personalcomputers (PCs), mobile phones, video telephones, electronic bookreaders, desktop PCs, laptop PCs, netbook computers, workstations,servers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable multimedia players(PMPs), Moving Picture Experts Group phase 1 or phase 2 (MPEG-1 orMPEG-2) audio layer 3 (MP3) players, mobile medical devices, cameras,and wearable devices. According to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the wearable devices may include accessories (for example,watches, rings, bracelets, ankle bracelets, glasses, contact lenses, orhead-mounted devices (HMDs)), cloth-integrated types (for example,electronic clothes), body-attached types (for example, skin pads ortattoos), or implantable types (for example, implantable circuits).

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic device maybe one of home appliances. The home appliances may include, for example,at least one of a digital versatile disc (DVD) player, an audio, arefrigerator, an air conditioner, a cleaner, an oven, a microwave oven,a washing machine, an air cleaner, a set-top box, a home automationcontrol panel, a security control panel, a television (TV) box (forexample, Samsung HomeSync™, Apple TV™, or Google TV™), a game console(for example, Xbox™ or PlayStation™), an electronic dictionary, anelectronic key, a camcorder, or an electronic panel.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device mayinclude at least one of various medical devices (for example, variousportable medical measurement devices (a blood glucose meter, a heartrate measuring device, a blood pressure measuring device, and a bodytemperature measuring device), a magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), amagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device, a computed tomography (CT)device, a photographing device, and an ultrasonic device), a navigationsystem, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), an event datarecorder (EDR), a flight data recorder (FDR), a vehicular infotainmentdevice, electronic devices for vessels (for example, a navigation devicefor vessels and a gyro compass), avionics, a security device, avehicular head unit, an industrial or home robot, an automatic teller'smachine (ATM) of a financial company, a point of sales (POS) of a store,or an internet of things (for example, a bulb, various sensors, anelectricity or gas meter, a spring cooler device, a fire alarm device, athermostat, an electric pole, a toaster, a sporting apparatus, a hotwater tank, a heater, and a boiler).

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronicdevice may include at least one of a furniture or a part of abuilding/structure, an electronic board, an electronic signaturereceiving device, a projector, or various measurement devices (forexample, a water service, electricity, gas, or electric wave measuringdevice). In various embodiments of the present disclosure, theelectronic device may be one or a combination of the aforementioneddevices. The electronic device according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure may be a flexible electronic device. Further, theelectronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosureis not limited to the aforementioned devices, but may include newelectronic devices produced due to the development of technologies.

Hereinafter, electronic devices according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. The term “user” used herein may refer to a person who uses anelectronic device or may refer to a device (for example, an artificialelectronic device) that uses an electronic device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronicdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic device 101 may be a device such as asmartphone and a tablet PC or a wearable device such as a smart watchand a smart band, each of which has a screen output function. Theelectronic device 101 may include a first processor 110, a secondprocessor 120, a display driving circuit 130, and a display panel 150.

The first processor 110 may execute, for example, calculation or dataprocessing about control and/or communication of at least anothercomponent of the electronic device 101. In various embodiments, thefirst processor 110 may be a CPU or an AP.

The processor 110 may send image data to be output on the display panel150 to the display driving circuit 130 over a first channel 111. Animage (hereinafter referred to as “main image”) output through the imagedata may be output on a frame-by-frame basis on the display panel 150.For example, if the display panel 150 outputs a screen at a rate of 60frames per second, the first processor 110 may send image datacorresponding to one frame to the display driving circuit 130 60 timesper second. The display driving unit 130 may generate a main image basedon each image data and may output the generated main image on thedisplay panel 150.

According to various embodiments, if a currently output first frame isthe same as a second frame to be output subsequent to the first frame,the first processor 110 may not send separate image data to the displaydriving circuit 130. In this case, the display driving circuit 130 maycontinue outputting a still image stored in its graphic random accessmemory (RAM).

According to various embodiments, the first processor 110 may providedata, image processing of which is performed using a specifiedalgorithm, to the display driving circuit 130. For example, the firstprocessor 110 may compress a screen frame data using the specifiedalgorithm and may provide the compressed data to the display drivingcircuit 130 at a fast speed. The display driving circuit 130 maydecompress a compressed image and may output the decompressed image onthe display panel 150.

In various embodiments, the first processor 110 may send a controlsignal to the display driving circuit 130 over a second channel 112. Thecontrol signal may be a signal of a text format, distinguished from theimage data. The display driving circuit 130 may generate an image(hereinafter referred to as “additional image”) to be output togetherwith the main image received over the first channel 111 based on thecontrol signal.

The second processor 120 may be a separate processor independent of thefirst processor 110. The second processor 120 may be a processor whichperforms calculation necessary for executing a specified function to bedifferent from the first processor 110. The second processor 120 maysend image data or a control signal to the display driving circuit 130to be similar to the first processor 110. The second processor 120 maysend image data to the display driving circuit 130 over the firstchannel 111 and may send a control signal to the display driving circuit130 over the second channel 112. The image data may be data for forminga main image output on the display panel 150. The control signal may bea signal for generating an additional image output by being added to themain image.

In various embodiments, the second processor 120 may be a module or chipsuch as a communication processor (CP), a touch control circuit, a touchpen control circuit, or a sensor hub.

The CP may perform a function of managing a data link in communicationbetween the electronic device 101 and other electronic devices connectedwith the electronic device 101 by a network and converting acommunication protocol. The CP may perform calculation for acommunication service such as a voice call service, a video callservice, a text message service (e.g., a short message service (SMS), amultimedia message service (MMS), and the like), or a packet dataservice.

The touch control circuit may control a touch panel correspondinglycombined with the display panel 150. The touch control circuit mayprocess touch gesture information input from the touch panel or maycontrol an operation of the touch panel. The touch controller circuitmay include a driver circuit, a sensor circuit, a control logic, anoscillator, a delay table, an analog-digital converter, a microcontroller unit (MCU), and the like.

The sensor hub may include an MCU and may control at least one sensor.The sensor hub may collect sensing information detected by varioussensors and may control an operation of each of the sensors. The sensorsmay include a temperature/humidity sensor, a biometric sensor, anatmospheric pressure sensor, a gyro sensor, and the like.

According to various embodiments, the second processor 120 may connectwith the first processor 110 over a separate channel 113 (e.g., an interintegrated circuit (I2C)). In various embodiments, the second processor120 may provide a control signal provided to the display driving circuit130 to the first processor 110. For example, if the second processor 120is a touch control circuit and if the first processor 110 is an AP, thetouch control circuit may provide a coordinate of a point where a touchinput of a user of the electronic device 101 occurs to both of thedisplay driving circuit 130 and the AP. The first processor 110 mayperform an operation associated with the touch input to change a mainimage. The display driving circuit 130 may generate an additional imageon the point where the touch input occurs and may output the generatedadditional image together with the main image. The display drivingcircuit 130 may be a driving circuit for outputting an image on thedisplay panel 150. The display driving circuit 130 may receive imagedata from the first processor 110 or the second processor 120 and mayoutput an image through image conversion.

According to various embodiments, the display driving circuit 130 mayinclude a sub-display driving circuit 140. The sub-display drivingcircuit 140 may generate an additional image to be output together withthe main image, based on the control signal provided from the firstprocessor 110 or the second processor 120. The additional image may beoutput on a partial region or a specified region of the display panel150. Information about generating and outputting the additional imagevia the sub-display driving circuit 140 may be provided with referenceto FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5A to 5C, 6A to 6C, 7, 8, 9A, 9B, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,15, 16, and 17.

The display panel 150 may output a screen such as an image and text. Thedisplay panel 150 may be, for example, a liquid-crystal display (LCD) oran active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AM-OLED). The displaypanel 150 may be implemented to be flexible, transparent, or wearable.The display panel 150 may be included in, for example, a cover of a caseelectrically combined with the electronic device 101.

The display panel 150 may receive and output a signal about the mainimage or the additional image. The display panel 150 may be implementedin the form of intersecting a plurality of data lines and a plurality ofgate lines. At least one pixel is arranged in points where the datalines and the gate lines are intersected. If the display panel 150corresponds to an OLED panel, it may include one or more switchingelements (e.g., field effect transistors (FETs)) and one OLED. Eachpixel may receive an image signal and the like at timing from thedisplay driving circuit 130 and may generate light.

According to various embodiments, the first channel 111 may send imagedata for outputting a main image to the display driving circuit 130, andthe second channel may send a control signal for generating anadditional image to the display driving circuit 130. The image data mayhave a relatively larger data capacity than that of the control signal.The first channel 111 which transmits the image data may be a channelwhich secures a data transmission rate which is faster than the secondchannel 112 which transmits the control signal. For example, the firstchannel 111 may be a high speed serial interface (HiSSI), and the secondchannel 112 may be a low speed serial interface (LoSSI).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of adisplay driving circuit according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, a display driving circuit 130 may include aninterface (I/F) module 210, a graphic RAM 220, an image processingmodule 230, a sub-display driving circuit 140, a multiplexer 240, atiming controller 250, a source driver 260, and a gate driver 270.

The I/F module 210 may receive image data or a control signal from aprocessor 110 or a second processor 120 of FIG. 1. The I/F module 210may include an HiSSI 211 and an LoSSI 212. The HiSSI 211 may establish afirst channel 111 which may receive image data for a main image, and theLoSSI 212 may establish a second channel 112 which may receive controlinformation for generating an additional image. In various embodiments,the I/F module 210 may further include an I/F controller (not shown) forcontrolling the HiSSI 211 and the LoSSI 212.

The HiSSI 211 (e.g., a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI)) mayreceive image data from the processor 110 or the second processor 120and may provide the image data to the graphic RAM 220. The HiSSI 211 mayquickly transmit image data having relatively more amounts of data thanthat of a control signal.

The LoSSL 212 (e.g., a serial peripheral interface (SPI) or an I2C) mayreceive a control signal from the first processor 110 or the secondprocessor 120 and may provide the control signal to the sub-displaydriving circuit 140.

The graphic RAM 220 may store the image data provided from the firstprocessor 110 or the second processor 120. The graphic RAM 220 mayinclude a memory space corresponding to resolution and/or the number ofcolor gradations of a display panel 150. The graphic RAM 220 may bereferred to as a frame buffer or a line buffer.

The image processing module 230 may convert the image data stored in thegraphic RAM 220 into an image. The image data stored in the graphic RAM220 may be in the form of data in which image processing is performedusing a specified algorithm. The image data may be compressed using thespecified algorithm for fast transmission, and the compressed image datamay be sent to the first channel 111. The image processing module 230may decompress a compressed image and may output the decompressed imageon the display panel 150. In various embodiments, the image processingmodule 230 may improve image quality of image data. Although notillustrated, the image processing module 230 may include a pixel dataprocessing circuit, a pre-processing circuit, a gating circuit, and thelike.

The sub-display driving circuit 140 may receive the control signal fromthe LoSSI 212. The sub-display driving circuit 140 may generate anadditional image to be output together with a main image based on thecontrol signal. For one example, the additional image may be a simplegraphic symbol, such as a circle or an icon, output on a partial regionor a specified region of the display panel 150. For another example, theadditional image may be numbers (e.g., 00 second to 59 seconds) of asecond hand of a digital watch or a second hand of an analog watch.Information about generating the additional image via the sub-displaydriving circuit 140 will be provided with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 5A to5C, 6A to 6C, 7, 8, 9A, 9B, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17.

The multiplexer 240 may merge a signal for the main image output fromthe image processing module 230 with a signal for the additional imageoutput from the sub-display driving circuit 140 and may provide themerged signal to the timing controller 250.

The timing controller 250 may generate a data control signal forcontrolling operation timing of the source driver 260 and a gate controlsignal for controlling operation timing of the gate driver 270 based onthe signal merged by the multiplexer 240.

The source driver 260 and the gate driver 270 may generate signalsrespectively provided to a scan line and a data line of the displaypanel 150, based on the source control signal and the gate controlsignal received from the timing controller 250.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for operating an electronicdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, in operation 310, a display driving circuit 130 ofFIG. 1 may receive image data (hereinafter referred to as “main imagedata”) over a first channel 111 of FIG. 1 from a first processor 110 ora second processor 120 of FIG. 1.

For example, the first processor 110 or the second processor 120 mayprovide various images (e.g., an album view screen, a video outputscreen, a memo note, a schedule screen, a keyboard input screen, and thelike) according to execution of an application to the display drivingcircuit 130. In various embodiments, the main image data may be a sleepscreen, an idle screen, a home screen, a lock screen, or the like.

In operation 320, the display driving circuit 130 may receive a controlsignal over a second channel 112 of FIG. 2 from the first processor 110or the second processor 120. The control signal may be a signal of atext format, distinguished from the main image data received over thefirst channel 111.

According to various embodiments, the control signal may be coordinateinformation on a screen by a body (e.g., a finger) or a touch pen of auser of the electronic device 101, arranged to be adjacent to thescreen. For example, if the second processor 120 is a touch controlcircuit and if the body (e.g., the finger) of the user is arranged to beadjacent to the screen, the touch control circuit may send a coordinatevalue of the closest location to the body of the user or a capacitancechange value on the coordinate to the display driving circuit 130 overthe second channel 112.

In operation 330, the display driving circuit 130 may output an image ona display panel 150 of FIG. 1 based on the main image data and thecontrol signal. The display driving circuit 130 may generate anadditional image based on the control signal. The display drivingcircuit 130 may merge the generated additional image with a main imagebased on the main image data and may output the merged image.

For one example, if receiving the coordinate value of the closestlocation to the body of the user or the capacitance change value on thecoordinate from the touch control circuit, the display driving circuit130 may generate a shadow image (e.g., a circle or oval) of loweringluminance of pixels which belongs to a specified range on the coordinatevalue as an additional image. The shadow image may be directly displayedvia the display driving circuit 130. Information about a process ofreceiving the control signal from the touch control circuit or the touchpen control circuit and generating the additional image will be providedwith reference to FIGS. 5A to 5C and 6A to 6C.

For another example, the display driving circuit 130 may receive acontrol signal associated with driving a digital watch or an analogwatch from the first processor 110 or the second processor 120. Thedisplay driving circuit 130 may display hour and minute information ofthe digital watch or the analog watch through a main image, may generatean additional image of displaying second information generated in thedisplay driving circuit 130, may merge the generated additional imagewith the main image, and may output the merged image. Information abouta method of showing the digital watch or the analog watch in the displaydriving circuit 130 will be provided with reference to FIGS. 10 to 15.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for operating an electronicdevice using a plurality of processors according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, in operation 410, a display driving circuit 130 ofFIG. 1 may receive main image data over a first channel 111 of FIG. 1from a first processor 110 of FIG. 1. The display driving circuit 130may output a main image through the main image data. For example, themain image data may be data about an execution screen of variousapplications, a home screen, an idle screen, a sleep screen, and thelike. In various embodiments, the first processor 110 may be an AP.

In operation 420, the display driving circuit 130 may receive a controlsignal over a second channel 112 of FIG. 1 from a second processor 120of FIG. 1. The control signal may be a signal of a text format,distinguished from the main image data received over the first channel111. In various embodiments, the second processor 120 may be a touchcontrol circuit, a touch pen controller, or the like.

For example, the display driving circuit 130 may receive coordinateinformation of a point, where a body (e.g., a finger) of a user of anelectronic device 101 of FIG. 1 is adjacent to a screen, from the touchcontrol circuit. The coordinate information may be transmitted over thesecond channel 112.

In operation 430, the display driving circuit 130 may generate anadditional image according to the control signal. The control signal maybe a message signal of a text format. The display driving circuit 130may generate an additional image based on information (e.g., coordinateinformation) included in the control signal.

For one example, if receiving coordinate information from the touchcontrol circuit, the sub-display driving circuit 140 may generate ashadow image on the coordinate. The shadow image may be generated bylowering a luminance value of pixels included within a specified range.

For another example, if receiving coordinate information of a locationto which a touch pen is currently arranged to be adjacent from the touchpen control circuit, the display driving circuit 130 may generate acircular image on the coordinate. The sub-display driving circuit 140may be configured to output an output color of pixels, which are withina specified distance from the coordinate, as a first color (e.g., black)and may be configured to output pixels adjacent to the pixels of thefirst color with a second color (e.g., gray).

In operation 440, the display driving circuit 130 may merge the mainimage with the additional image and may output the merged image on adisplay panel 150 of FIG. 1. The display driving circuit 130 may mergethe additional image based on the control signal provided from thesecond processor 120 with a main image through the main image dataprovided from the first processor 110 and may output the merged image.In various embodiments, the display driving circuit 130 may changesettings of some pixels in settings of pixels which constructs the mainimage and may reflect the additional image in the main image.

According to various embodiments, the display driving circuit 130 may beconfigured to merge the additional image with the main image during aspecified time or a specified frame. For example, if receiving a newmain image to which an image corresponding to the additional image isadded from the first processor 110, the display driving circuit 130 maystop the operation of merging the additional image generated based onthe control signal with the main image.

FIG. 5A is a screen illustrating a method for operating an electronicdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5A, a display driving circuit 130 of FIG. 1 may add anadditional image to a main image based on main image data provided via afirst processor 110 (e.g., an AP) and may output the added image. Theadditional image (e.g., a shadow image and a circular or oval image) maybe generated based on a control signal provided from a second processor120 of FIG. 1 (e.g., a touch control circuit and a touch pen controlcircuit).

In a screen 501, an embodiment is exemplified as a shadow image 520 isoutput as an additional image if a body (e.g., a finger 510) of a useris arranged to be adjacent to a screen.

The display driving circuit 130 may output a main image 505 (e.g., amessage input screen) on the screen 501 based on the main image dataprovided from the first processor 110. The main image 505 may be outputon a frame-by-frame basis. In various embodiments, if a currently outputfirst frame is the same as a second frame to be output subsequent to thefirst frame, the first processor 110 may not send separate main imagedata to the display driving circuit 130. In this case, the displaydriving circuit 130 may continue outputting a still image stored in itsgraphic RAM. The first processor 110 may provide new main image data tothe display driving circuit 130 per specified time period or if there isa change to a currently outputted main image.

If the finger 510 of the user approaches the screen 501 while the mainimage is output, a change in capacitance may occur at a specific pointof a touch panel adjacent to the finger 510. The second processor 120(e.g., a touch control circuit) may extract a coordinate value of thepoint. The second processor 120 may provide the extracted coordinatevalue to the display driving circuit 130 over a second channel 112 ofFIG. 1.

The display driving circuit 130 may generate a shadow image 520 on thecoordinate. The shadow image 520 may be generated by lowering aluminance value of pixels included in a specified range (e.g., a circle)or changing a hue value. For example, pixels included in the shadowimage 520 may be set with a color (e.g., gray) which is darker than aperipheral region.

The display driving circuit 130 may merge the shadow image 520 with acurrently outputted screen (e.g., a memo note, a text input window, akeyboard, and the like) of an application and may output the mergedimage. The user may verify where a point he or she will touch is,through an additional image. Since the first processor (e.g., the AP) isin a state where separate main image data is not transmitted to thedisplay driving circuit 130 or in a sleep state while the additionalimage is output, power dissipation may be reduced.

According to various embodiments, the first processor 110 may receive acoordinate value of a point where a touch occurs from the touch controlcircuit which is the second processor 120. The first processor 110 maygenerate a main image in which a shadow image is reflected on acoordinate and may provide the generated main image to the displaydriving circuit 130. In this case, the display driving circuit 130 maystop outputting an additional image. The display driving circuit 130 mayreceive a signal for stopping outputting of the additional image over asecond channel 112 from the first processor 110 (e.g., the AP) or thesecond processor 120 (e.g., the touch control circuit).

In a screen 502, an embodiment is exemplified as a circular image 560 byapproach of a touch pen 550 is output as an additional image.

The display driving circuit 130 may output a main image 540 (e.g., amemo note input screen) on the screen 502 based on main image dataprovided from the first processor 120. The main image 540 may be outputon a frame-by-frame basis. In various embodiments, the display drivingcircuit 130 may continue outputting a still image stored in the graphicRAM.

If the touch pen 560 approaches the screen 502 while the main image isoutput, a change in capacitance may occur at a specific point of a touchpanel adjacent to the touch pen 560. The second processor 120 (e.g., atouch pen control circuit (e.g., a Wacom integrated circuit (IC))) mayextract a coordinate value of the point. The second processor 120 mayprovide the extracted coordinate value to the display driving circuit130 over the second channel 112.

The display driving circuit 130 may be configured to output pixels,which are within a specified distance from a coordinate, using a firstcolor (e.g., a black color). In various embodiments, the display drivingcircuit 130 may be configured to naturally form the circular image 560through anti-aliasing processing of outputting pixels adjacent to thepixels of the first color using a second color (e.g., a gray color).

In the screen 502, an embodiment is exemplified as the circular image560 is reflected in the main image 540 based on a location of the touchpen 550. However, embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, thedisplay driving circuit 130 may be configured to output a hovering menuof the touch pen 550 as an additional image. The display driving circuit130 may draw a circular or hovering menu through calculation (e.g.,integer calculation) of a simple form.

FIG. 5B is a drawing illustrating a method for showing an additionalimage according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 5B,an embodiment is exemplified as an additional image is a circular image.However, embodiments are not limited thereto.

Referring to FIG. 5B, circular images 560 a and 560 b may be output viaa display driving circuit 130 of FIG. 1. The display driving circuit 130may merge the circular images 560 a and 560 b based on a control signalprovided from a second processor 120 of FIG. 1 with a main imagegenerated based on main image data provided from a first processor 110of FIG. 1 and may output the merged image.

In the circular image 560 a, the display driving circuit 130 may receivea coordinate value about a specific point (e.g., a point where a touchinput of a user occurs or a point adjacent to a touch pen) on a screenfrom the second processor 120.

For example, if the coordinate value is (a, b), the display drivingcircuit 130 may draw the circular image 560 a which has the coordinatevalue (a, b) as an origin point. The display driving circuit 130 maydraw the circular image 560 a according to Equation 1 below.

(x−a)²+(y−b)²−^(r) =D  Equation 1

-   -   (x, y): a location of a pixel included in the circular image 560        a    -   (a, b): a coordinate of an origin point    -   r: a radius of a circle    -   D: an anti-aliasing application distance

For example, the display driving circuit 130 may output pixels of apoint where D is “0” (e.g., pixels which belong to a first range 561)using a first color (e.g., a black color). The first range 561 mayinclude pixels of a point distant from the origin point (a, b) by theradius r. The display driving circuit 130 may output pixels of a pointwhere D is greater than “0” (e.g., pixels which belong to a second range562) using a second color (e.g., a gray color) which is brighter thanthe first color. Also, the display driving circuit 130 may output pixelsof a point where D is less than “0” (e.g., pixels which belong to athird range 563) using the second color (e.g., the gray color).

The display driving circuit 130 may allow the circular image 560 a toexternally form a natural circle through anti-aliasing processing basedon a D value.

According to various embodiments, the display driving circuit 130 mayblend at least some of the pixels which belong to the first range 561 tothe third range 563 with a main image (or a background image) and mayoutput the blended image. For example, the display driving circuit 130may blend the pixels which belong to the first range 561 with abackground image at a specified ratio (e.g., the ratio of 50:50, theratio of 25:75, and the like) and may output the blended image. In thiscase, the circular image 560 a may have the similar color to that of thebackground image, and the sense of difference between the circular image560 a and the background image may be reduced.

According to various embodiments, the display driving circuit 130 mayoutput the inside of the circular image 560 a using the main image (orthe background image). For example, the display driving circuit 130 mayfill the inside of the circular image 560 a with an image in which thebackground image is inverted.

According to various embodiments, although a control signal is notreceived from the second processor 120, the display driving circuit 130may output an additional image (e.g., the circular image 560 a). Forexample, although a separate coordinate value is not received from thetouch control circuit which is the second processor 120, the displaydriving circuit 130 may output the circular image 560 a on a coordinate(e.g., the center of a screen) set to a default. If a separatecoordinate value is received through a control signal, the displaydriving circuit 130 may move the circular image 560 a using thecoordinate value.

In a circular image 560 b, the display driving circuit 130 may setdifferent colors to ranges. For example, the display driving circuit 130may output pixels which belong to a first range 565 of a point where Dis “0”, using a first color (e.g., a black color). The display drivingcircuit 130 may output pixels of a point where D is greater than “0”(e.g., pixels which belong to a second range 566) using a second color(e.g., a gray color) which is brighter than the first color. The displaydriving circuit 130 may output pixels of a point where D is less than“0” (e.g., pixels which belong to a third range 567) using a third color(e.g., a blue color) which is different from the first color or thesecond color.

In FIG. 5B, an embodiment is exemplified as it is classified into threeintervals based on an anti-aliasing application distance D. However,embodiments are not limited thereto. For one example, the displaydriving circuit 130 may sequentially output the inside of a circle usinga different color to provide various visual effects to the user. Foranother example, the display driving circuit 130 may display a circlebased on an interval to output two or more circular images in the formof overlapping the two or more circular images.

FIG. 5C is a screen illustrating a process of outputting a cursor imageas an additional image according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5C, a display driving circuit 130 of FIG. 1 may mergean additional image (e.g., a cursor image 570) with a main image basedon main image data provided via a first processor 110 of FIG. 1 (e.g.,an AP) and may output the merged image on a screen 503. The additionalimage (e.g., the cursor image 570) may be generated based on a controlsignal provided from a second processor 120 of FIG. 1 (e.g., a touchcontrol circuit and a touch pen control circuit).

In the screen 503, an embodiment is exemplified as the cursor image 570is output as the additional image by an application, such as a messageapplication or a social network service (SNS) application, which mayenter text.

The display driving circuit 130 may output a main image (e.g., a messageapplication screen) on the screen 503 based on main image data providedfrom the first processor 110. The main image may be output on aframe-by-frame basis.

If a user touches a text input window 574 while the main image (e.g.,the message application screen) is output, the cursor image 570 may begenerated on a first point (e.g., a left upper end of the text inputwindow 574). The second processor 120 may provide a coordinate value ofa coordinate the user touches to the display driving circuit 130 over asecond channel 112 of FIG. 1.

If the coordinate value is included within a range of the text inputwindow 574, the display driving circuit 130 may generate the cursorimage 570 on the first point.

According to various embodiments, the display driving circuit 130 mayoutput the cursor image 570 to turn on/off the cursor image 570 atspecified time intervals (e.g., 0.5 seconds). While outputting thecursor image 570 to be turned on/off, the display driving circuit 130may not change the main image (e.g., the message application screen)provided via the first processor 110.

According to various embodiments, the cursor image 570 may be output inthe form of one of a form (e.g., a cursor image 570 a) extended in afirst direction (e.g., a longitudinal direction) or a form (e.g., acursor image 570 b) extended in a second direction (e.g., a transversedirection). The cursor image 570 a may be shown relative to a startpoint 571 and may have a width 572 and a height 573. The width 572 issmaller than the height 573. The cursor image 570 a may be turned on/offat a left or right side of entered text.

The cursor image 570 b may be shown relative to a start point 575 andmay have a width 576 and a height 577. The width 576 is larger than theheight 577. The cursor image 570 b may be turned on/off at a lower endof entered text.

According to various embodiments, if a start point (e.g., the startpoint 571 or 575) of the cursor image 570 a or 570 b is changed based ona text input of the user, the first processor 110 or the secondprocessor 120 may provide a coordinate value changed to a control signalto the display driving circuit 130 over a second channel 112 of FIG. 2.The display driving circuit 130 may output the cursor image 570 a or 570b relative to the changed start point.

FIG. 6A is a screen illustrating a process of outputting a changedadditional image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6A, a display driving circuit 130 of FIG. 1 may outputa main image (e.g., a message input screen) on a screen 601 based onmain image data provided from a first processor 110 of FIG. 1. The mainimage 605 may be output on a frame-by-frame basis. In variousembodiments, if a currently output first frame is the same as a secondframe to be output subsequent to the first frame, the first processor110 may not send separate main image data to the display driving circuit130. The display driving circuit 130 may continue outputting a stillimage stored in its graphic RAM.

If a body (e.g., a finger 610) of a user approaches the screen 601 andis located within a first distance 610 a (e.g., an initial locationwhere capacitance of a touch panel is changed due to the approach of thefinger 610), a shadow image 620 a may be generated on the most adjacentpoint of the touch panel to the finger 610. The method of generating theshadow image 620 a may be the same or similar to an output method on ascreen 501 of FIG. 5A.

The shadow image 620 a may be arranged on the closest point to thefinger 610 (e.g., a point having the largest change in capacitance ofthe touch panel). For example, in case of the screen 601, the shadowimage 620 a may be arranged around the periphery of a message inputwindow.

If the finger 610 is moved to be gradually close to the screens 602 and603 such that a distance between the finger 610 and the screens 602 and603 is close within a second distance 610 b and a third distance 610 c,a touch control circuit which is a second processor 120 of FIG. 1 maycontinue providing a changed coordinate value (e.g., a coordinate valueof a point having the largest change in capacitance) as a control signalto the display driving circuit 130. A sub-display driving circuit 140 ofFIG. 1 may continue adding shadow images 620 b and 602 c on thecoordinate value and may output the added shadow images 620 b and 620 c.

Although the shadow images 620 a to 620 c are continuously changed inlocation due to the approach of the finger 610, the first processor 110may not change a main image and, if some cases, may maintain a sleepstate.

In various embodiments, the touch control circuit may provide a controlsignal including a capacitance value to the display driving circuit 130.The display driving circuit 130 may change a size of each of the shadowimages 620 a to 620 c based on the capacitance value. For example, ifthe capacitance value is small, the display driving circuit 130 maygenerate an additional image of a relatively broad range like the shadowimage 620 a. If the capacitance value is large, the display drivingcircuit 130 may generate an additional image of a relatively narrowrange like the shadow image 620 c. The display driving circuit 130 mayprovide an effect of generating a real shadow when the finger 610 ismoved to be closer to the screen 601, 602, or 603 and displaying alocation the user wants to touch to him or her.

FIG. 6B is a screen illustrating a change of an additional imageaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 6B, anembodiment is exemplified as a touch image is output. However,embodiments are not limited thereto.

Referring to FIG. 6B, a display driving circuit 130 of FIG. 1 may beconfigured to change a color of an additional image (e.g., touch images630 a and 630 b) on screens 604 and 605 as a body (e.g., a finger 610)of a user is distant from the screens 604 and 605.

The display driving circuit 130 may receive and output a main image(e.g., a call keypad screen) from a first processor 110 of FIG. 1. If atouch input occurs from the user, the display driving circuit 130 maygenerate an additional image (e.g., the touch images 630 a and 630 b),may merge the generated additional image with the main image (e.g., thecall keypad screen), and may output the merged image.

If a touch input of the user occurs (e.g., if the user touches thenumeral 2 of a keypad), a second processor 120 of FIG. 1 (e.g., a touchcontrol circuit) may provide the coordinate value to the first processor110 and the display driving circuit 130. The first processor 110 mayprovide a main image, which displays the numeral 2 on the screens 604and 605, to the display driving circuit 130.

The display driving circuit 130 may add the touch image 630 a to themain image and may output the added image. The touch image 630 a may begenerated relative to a coordinate value received from the secondprocessor 120. For example, the touch image 630 a may be asemi-transparent blue circular image.

If a specified time elapses after the touch input of the user, thedisplay driving circuit 130 may output the touch image 630 b togradually lighten the touch image 630 a in color (e.g., change the touchimage 630 a to the touch image 630 b). A user may verify a point he orshe touches recently during the specified time through the change of thetouch image 630 a.

The display driving circuit 130 may output a touch image 640 to changethe touch image 640 in size over time. In various embodiments, thedisplay driving circuit 130 may output the touch image 640 to reduce thetouch image 640 in size over time.

For example, if the user touches the numeral 5 of the keypad, the secondprocessor 120 (e.g., the touch control circuit) may provide a coordinatevalue of a coordinate where a touch input occurs to the display drivingcircuit 130. The display driving circuit 130 may output a touch image640 a having a specified size (or area) at a time when the coordinatevalue is received.

In various embodiments, the display driving circuit 130 may output thetouch image 640 a to gradually reduce the touch image 640 a in size overa time period t when a specific frame (e.g., 5 frames, 10 frames, 20frames, and the like) is changed. An initial size of the touch image 640a may be a size of an image 655 including 160 pixels. The touch image640 a may be gradually reduced in size over the time period t and maythen be changed to a touch image 640 b. The touch image 640 b may have asize of an image 651 including 10 pixels. For example, as shown in FIG.6B, the image 655 may be gradually changed to a reduced size image 651by changing the image 655 having 160 pixels to an image 654 having 80pixels, changing the image 654 having 80 pixels to an image 653 having40 pixels, changing the image 653 having 40 pixels to an image 652having 20 pixels, and changing the image 652 having 20 pixels to animage 651 having 10 pixels.

In various embodiments, the display driving circuit 130 may output thetouch image 640 to increase the touch image 640 in size over time. Forexample, if the user moves part (e.g., a finger) of his or her body tobe adjacent to the screen 606 to touch the numeral 5 of the keypad, thesecond processor 120 (e.g., the touch control circuit) may provide acoordinate value of a point where capacitance of a touch panel ischanged to the display driving circuit 130. For example, as shown inFIG. 6B, the image 651 may be gradually changed to an enlarged sizeimage 655 by changing the image 651 having 10 pixels to an image 652having 20 pixels, changing the image 652 having 20 pixels to an image653 having 40 pixels, changing the image 653 having 40 pixels to animage 654 having 80 pixels, and changing the image 654 having 80 pixelsto an image 655 having 160 pixels.

The display driving circuit 130 may output touch image 640 b at a timewhen the coordinate value is received. The display driving circuit 130may output the touch image 640 b to gradually increase the touch image640 b in size over the time period t when a specified frame (e.g., 5frames, 10 frames, 20 frames, and the like) is changed. An initial sizeof the touch image 640 b may be a size of the image 651 including the 10pixels. The touch image 640 b may be gradually increased in size overthe time period t and may be changed to the touch image 640 a. The touchimage 640 a may have the size of the image 655 including 160 pixels.

In various embodiments, the display driving circuit 130 may output thetouch image 640 to change the touch image 640 in color together with asize of the touch image 640 over time. For example, the display drivingcircuit 130 may set a first color for the touch image 640 a and may seta second color which is darker than the first color for the touch image640 b. The display driving circuit 130 may be configured to sequentiallychange the touch image 640 from the first color to the second color overtime.

FIG. 6C is a screen illustrating a process of outputting an additionalimage on a specified range of a screen according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. In FIG. 6C, an embodiment is exemplified as a touchimage is output on a keypad. However, embodiments are not limitedthereto.

Referring to FIG. 6C, a display driving circuit 130 of FIG. 1 may outputa touch image 670 a of a specified range based on a coordinate value ofa touch input.

If a main image is a text input screen, a user may push a button to beinput (e.g., a button 670) and may enter text on screens 607 and 608. Asecond processor 120 of FIG. 1 (e.g., a touch control circuit) mayprovide a coordinate value of a point where a touch input of the useroccurs to the display driving circuit 130.

The display driving circuit 130 may output the touch image 670 a on thebutton 670 including the coordinate value. The touch image 670 a is lessthan or equal to in size the button 670.

For example, if the user touches a touch point 671 which belongs to thebutton 670, the second processor 120 (e.g., the touch control circuit)may send a coordinate value of the touch point 671 to the displaydriving circuit 130 through a control signal. The display drivingcircuit 130 may determine a reference point 672 of the button 670including the touch point 671. The display driving circuit 130 mayoutput the touch image 670 a having a width 673 and a height 674 on thereference point 672. In various embodiments, the width 673 and theheight 674 of the touch image 670 a may be less than a width and aheight of the touch button 670, respectively. The user may verify abutton that is currently being touched by the user or a button that theuser will touch, through the touch image 670 a.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for extracting a partialimage from a main image configured with a plurality of images andoutputting the extracted image as an additional image according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, in operation 710, a display driving circuit 130 ofFIG. 1 may receive main image data about a main image (hereinafterreferred to as “combination image”) configured with a plurality ofimages from a first processor 110 or a second processor 120 of FIG. 1.The combination image may be an image in which the display drivingcircuit 130 may generate an additional image by selecting some of theplurality of images. The combination image may have a form of combiningimages such as a numeral, an alphabet, a date, a weather icon, a callicon, and a text icon in a specified order.

In operation 720, the display driving circuit 130 may receive a controlsignal including image selection information from the first processor110 or the second processor 120. The image selection information may beinformation for selecting at least some of the plurality of imagesincluded in the combination image. In various embodiments, the imageselection information may include a data address, a data size of animage, and the like on a graphic RAM 220 of FIG. 2.

In operation 730, the display driving circuit 130 may select some(hereinafter referred to as “output image”) of the plurality of imagesincluded in the combination image based on the image selectioninformation. For example, the display driving circuit 130 may select theoutput image to include time information, weather information, andtemperature information.

In operation 740, the display driving circuit 130 may output theselected output image on a display panel 150 of FIG. 1. In variousembodiments, the display driving circuit 130 may continue outputting theoutput image, for example, may implement an always-on display. Invarious embodiments, the display driving circuit 130 may set a specifiedimage (e.g., at least one included in the combination image) to the mainimage, may combine the output image with the main image, and may outputthe combined image on the display panel 150.

FIG. 8 is a screen illustrating a process of extracting and outputting apartial image from a combination image configured with a plurality ofimages according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8, a display driving circuit 130 of FIG. 1 may receivemain image data about a combination image 810 from a first processor 110or a second processor 120 of FIG. 1. The combination image 810 may havea form of combining images such as a numeral, an alphabet, a date, aweather icon, a call icon, and a text icon in a specified order.

The display driving circuit 130 may receive a control signal includingimage selection information from the first processor 110 or the secondprocessor 120. The image selection information may be information forselecting at least some of the plurality of images included in thecombination image.

For one example, the display driving circuit 130 may receive a controlsignal for outputting a digital watch, may select some (e.g., hourinformation 820 a and 820 b, classification information 820 c, minuteinformation 820 d and 820 e, and the like) of images included in thecombination image 810, and may implement the digital watch. The controlsignal may include information about a location or size where thedigital watch is displayed on a screen.

For another example, the display driving circuit 130 may receive acontrol signal including weather information and temperature informationvia a sensor hub and may combine and output a weather icon 821 a,temperature number values 821 d and 821 c, a temperature unit 821 d, andthe like.

According to various embodiments, the display driving circuit 130 mayreceive a control signal including communication related information viaa CP and may display a missed call and message reception information831. The display driving circuit 130 may display schedule information832, weather information 833, a digital watch 834, date information 835,and the like on a display panel 150 of FIG. 1.

In FIG. 8, an embodiment is exemplified as the output image 830 isdisplayed in a screen sleep state. However, embodiments are not limitedthereto. The display driving circuit 130 may set a specified image(e.g., at least one included in the combination image 810) to a mainimage, may combine the output image with the main image, and may outputthe combined image on the display panel 150.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are block diagrams illustrating a configuration of adisplay driving circuit which performs time calculation according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9A, a display driving circuit 930 may include asub-display driving circuit 940 and a clock generator 910 a. Thesub-display driving circuit 940 may receive a signal for a time changeof a second hand from the clock generator 910 a. The clock generator 910a may include an element such as a crystal resonator.

The display driving circuit 930 may receive a main image including timeinformation of hour and minute units via a first channel from a firstprocessor. For example, the display driving circuit 930 may receive mainimage data for an image, on which an hour and minute of a digital watchis displayed, at intervals of one minute from an AP.

The sub-display driving circuit 940 may receive a signal every secondfrom the clock generator 910 a with reference to a time when the mainimage data is received. The sub-display driving circuit 940 may generatean additional image based on a signal generated from the clock generator910 a. The display driving circuit 930 may combine the additional imagewith a main image generated based on the main image data and may outputthe combined image.

The display driving circuit 930 may perform calculation of a second handand may display a watch. The first processor or the second processor maynot send main image data about a separate main image to the displaydriving circuit 930 for one minute.

A form of a watch output via the display driving circuit 930 may be oneof a digital form, an analog form, or a form of simultaneouslydisplaying the digital watch and the analog watch. Additionalinformation about the method for implementing the watch of the secondhand via the display driving circuit 130 will be provided with referenceto FIGS. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15.

Referring to FIG. 9B, a clock generator 910 b may be arranged outsidethe display driving circuit 930. For example, the clock generator 910 bmay be arranged in the first processor or the second processor or may bearranged in a chip around the display driving circuit 930. In this case,the display driving circuit 930 may receive a control signal everysecond over a second channel from the clock generator 910 b. The displaydriving circuit 930 may perform calculation of a second hand based onthe control signal and may generate additional image. The generatedadditional image may be combined and output with a main image of hourand minute units.

According to various embodiments, the clock generator 910 b may beincluded in the first processor or the second processor. The firstprocessor or the second processor including the clock generator 910 bmay perform calculation of a second hand and may provide a controlsignal including the calculated result to the display driving circuit930 over the second channel In this case, the display driving circuit930 may combine additional image generated based on the control signalwith a main image including hour/minute information without separatecalculation of a second hand and may output the combined image. Invarious embodiments, it is impossible for the display driving circuit930 to perform decimal point operation, it may include the clockgenerator 910 b and may perform calculation about a location of a secondhand of an analog watch via a processor (e.g., a touch control circuit)which may perform the decimal point operation.

For example, the touch control circuit may perform calculation for asecond hand through decimal point operation using an angle. The touchcontrol circuit may provide the calculated result (e.g., informationabout a location of a pixel, a color of which is changed) to the displaydriving circuit 930. The sub-display driving circuit 940 of the displaydriving circuit 930 may generate an additional image based on thecalculated result.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronicdevice for configuring a watch of a second hand according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 10, an embodiment isexemplified as it is described that a clock generator is arranged in adisplay driving unit. However, embodiments are not limited thereto. Forexample, it is applied that the clock generator is arranged outside thedisplay driving circuit.

Referring to FIG. 10, a first processor 1010 or a second processor 1020may provide a main image including hour/minute information of a watch toa display driving circuit 1030 over a first channel 1011. For example,the display driving circuit 1030 may receive main image data for animage, on which an hour and minute of a digital watch is displayed, atintervals of one minute from an AP. The main image data may be stored ina graphic RAM 1035. The display driving circuit 1030 may not receiveseparate main image data for one minute from the first processor 1010 orthe second processor 1020.

The sub-display driving circuit 1040 may receive a signal every secondfrom a clock generator 1045 with reference to a specified time (e.g., atime when the main image data is received, a time when the main imagedata is stored in the graphic RAM 1035, or a time when a separatecontrol signal is received). The sub-display driving circuit 1040 mayperform calculation of a second hand based on a signal generated fromthe clock generator 1045 and may generate an additional image includingthe calculated result.

The display driving circuit 1030 may combine an additional imageincluding information of a second hand with a main image includinginformation of an hour/minute unit and may output the combined image.The main image may be updated at intervals of one minute, and theadditional image may be updated at intervals of one second.

Information about implementing a digital watch via the display drivingcircuit 1030 will be provided with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.Information about implementing an analog watch will be provided withreference to FIGS. 13 to 15.

FIG. 11 is a drawing illustrating an implementation example of a digitalwatch of a second hand via a digital driving circuit according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11, a digital watch 1110 of a second hand may beimplemented in an electronic device 1101 such as a smartphone or anelectronic device 1102 such as a smart watch. An hour/minute unit may beoutput based on main image data provided from a first processor 1010(e.g., an AP) or a second processor 1020 (e.g., a CP) in the electronicdevice 1101 or 1102. The second hand may be output based on a signalgenerated by a display driving circuit 1030 of FIG. 10.

If the display driving circuit 1030 performs all of calculation of anhour/minute/second hand, an amount of calculation may depart from adegree to which calculation may be performed by the display drivingcircuit 1030. Incorrect time information may be provided to a user dueto a time error of a clock generator 1045 of FIG. 10. Since the displaydriving circuit 1030 performs calculation of a second hand for oneminute and since the first processor 1010 or the second processor 1020performs calculation of an hour/minute unit, the electronic device 1101or 1102 may reduce a time error which may occur.

The digital watch 1110 may be classified into an hour display region1120 (two digits), a classification region 1130, a minute display region1140 (two digits), and a second display region 1150 (two digits). Invarious embodiments, the digital watch 1110 may be implemented with awatch 1103 of a row division type or a watch 1104 of a seven-segmenttype. However, embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, varioustypes of digital watches may be applied to the digital watch 1110.

According to various embodiments, at least part of the hour displayregion 1120, the classification region 1130, or the minute displayregion 1140 may be output through an additional image generated by thesub-display driving unit 1040. For one example, the classificationregion 1130 may be repeatedly turned on/off at intervals of one secondthrough an additional image generated by the sub-display driving circuit1040. For another example, the minute display region 1140 and the seconddisplay region 1150 may be configured to be output at intervals of aspecified time (e.g., five minutes) through additional image.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a process of outputting adigital watch in a sub-display driving circuit according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, a sub-display driving circuit 1040 of FIG. 10 mayinclude a time generator 1210, a control signal unit 1220, a numeralgenerator 1230, and a combiner 1240. The time generator 1210 may providetime information to the combiner 1240. The control signal unit 1220 mayprovide an enable signal to the combiner 1240. A numeral generator 1230may provide numerals which configures a digital watch to the combiner1240. The combiner 1240 may output the digital watch by combining thesignals provided from the time generator 1210, the control signal unit1220, and the numeral generator 1230.

According to various embodiments, the sub-display driving circuit 1040may be configured to perform only calculation of a second hand using thetime generator 1210, the control signal unit 1220, the numeral generator1230, and the combiner 1240. A display driving circuit 1030 of FIG. 10may receive main image data on which information about an hour/minute isdisplayed from a first processor 1010 or a second processor 1020 of FIG.10. The sub-display driving circuit 1040 may generate an additionalimage including information of a second hand, may combine the generatedadditional image with the main image data, and may output the combinedimage.

FIG. 13 is a drawing illustrating an implementation example of an analogwatch according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 13, a main image 1310 may include hour information(hour hand) 1310 a and minute information (minute hand) 1310 b. The mainimage 1310 may be provided to a display driving circuit 1030 of FIG. 10over a first channel 1011 of FIG. 10 from a first processor 1010 or asecond processor 1020 of FIG. 10. In various embodiments, the main image1310 may be updated at intervals of a specified time (e.g., one minute).

An additional image 1320 may include second information (second hand)1320 a. The additional image 1320 may be generated via a sub-displaydriving circuit 1040 and a clock generator 1045 in the display drivingcircuit 1030.

The display driving circuit 1030 may combine the main image 1310 withthe additional image 1320 and may output an analog watch 1330 on adisplay panel 1050 of FIG. 10. The analog watch 1330 may be output in astate such as a state 1340 a where a screen of an electronic device suchas a smartphone is turned off (e.g., a state where the other pixelsexcept for the analog watch 1330 are turned off) or a state 1340 b wherethe analog watch 1330 is output together with a home screen.Alternatively, the analog watch 1330 may be output in a state such as awatch output state 1350 a of an electronic device such as a smart watchor a state 1350 b where the analog watch 1330 is output together with adigital watch.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of asub-display driving circuit for implementing an analog watch accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 14, a sub-display driving circuit 1401 may include acalculation unit 1410, a setting unit 1420, and a drawing unit 1430.

The calculation unit 1410 may receive coordinates Start_X, Start_Y,End_X, and End_Y for information about a start point and an end point todraw a second hand and may calculate parameters (e.g., a slope, changeamounts dy and dx, and the like) necessary for applying a specifiedalgorithm (e.g. a Bresenham algorithm) The calculation unit 1410 may seta start point and an end point again such that an upper end or a leftside becomes the start point in consideration of a direction where datais drawn. If the slope among the parameters is positive, an absolutevalue of the slope may be reset as a segment having the same negativeslope.

The setting unit 1420 may calculate determination parameters to bequicker than the drawing unit 1430 by one line and may store pixelinformation necessary for drawing a second hand. An X coordinate of astart/end point may be stored in a variable in each line. The settingunit 1420 may update start/end point information in the end of everyline to use information about a start/end point stored to be quickerthan the drawing unit 1430 by one line in an actually drawn next line.

The drawing unit 1430 may set an output value DE as a high level whenpassing through a coordinate using the corresponding coordinate for astart/end point. The drawing unit 1430 may apply the coordinate to asegment with a negative slope which is identical to a direction wheredata is drawn without change. Conversely, the drawing unit 1430 maygenerate an output value DE by resetting a start/end point inconsideration of a max width.

FIG. 15 is a drawing illustrating a second hand drawing method using aBresenham algorithm according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. For example, an algorithm using another integer calculationmay be used to draw a second hand.

Referring to FIG. 15, a sub-display driving circuit 1401 of FIG. 14 mayset a start point 1501 of a second hand and an end point 1502 of thesecond hand. The sub-display driving circuit 1401 may calculate changeamounts dx and dy between the start point 1501 and the end point 1502 ofthe second hand.

The sub-display driving circuit 1401 may determine a start point 1510and an end point 1520 for each line of a pixel based on a clock signal1530 provided to the sub-display driving circuit 1401.

The number of pixels, colors of which are changed from a start point ofa first column, may be determined based on the change amounts dx and dy.A start point of a second column may be the same as an end point of thefirst column (or a previous point of the end point of the first column)in x-coordinate.

According to various embodiments, a method for operating an electronicdevice, the method may include receiving, by a display driving circuitof the electronic device, main image data over a first channel from afirst processor or a second processor of the electronic device,outputting, by the display driving circuit, a main image on a displaypanel of the electronic device based on the main image data, generating,by the display driving circuit, an additional image different from themain image, merging, by the display driving circuit, the main image withthe additional image, and outputting, by the display driving circuit,the merged image on the display panel.

According to various embodiments, the generating of the additional imagemay include generating the additional image associated with the mainimage data.

According to various embodiments, the generating of the additional imagemay include receiving, by the display driving circuit, a control signalover a second channel from the first processor or the second processor,and generating, by the display driving circuit, the additional imagebased on the control signal.

According to various embodiments, the generating of the additional imagemay include generating an additional image including a graphic symbol oricon of a type associated with an application which generates the mainimage data.

According to various embodiments, the generating of the additional imagemay include generating the additional image based on a coordinate valueon a screen, the coordinate value included in the control signal.

According to various embodiments, the generating of the additional imagemay include changing at least one of luminance, saturation, or a hue ofpixels of a range relative to the coordinate value in the main imagedata.

According to various embodiments, the generating of the additional imagemay include performing anti-aliasing processing for a peripheral regionof the pixels.

According to various embodiments, the generating of the additional imagemay include generating a cursor image which is turned on/off atintervals of a time relative to the coordinate value in the main imagedata.

According to various embodiments, the generating of the additional imagemay include changing an output of the additional image on aframe-by-frame basis.

According to various embodiments, the method for operating theelectronic device may further include receiving updated main image dataincluding the additional image from the first processor or the secondprocessor, and outputting the main image based on the updated main imagedata and stopping outputting of the additional image.

According to various embodiments, the receiving of the main image datamay include receiving the main image data from an AP of the electronicdevice, and the receiving of the control signal may include receivingthe control signal from at least one of a CP, a touch control circuit, atouch pen control circuit, or a sensor hub of the electronic device.

According to various embodiments, the receiving of the main image datamay include receiving the main image data via an HiSSI, and thereceiving of the control signal may include receiving the control signalvia an LoSSI.

According to various embodiments, the receiving of the main image datamay include receiving main image data including hour information andminute information of a digital watch or an analog watch.

According to various embodiments, the generating of the additional imagemay include generating an additional image including second informationassociated with the main image data. The outputting of the main image onthe display panel may include outputting a digital watch or an analogwatch of a second hand by merging the main image based on the main imagedata with the additional image. The outputting of the digital watch orthe analog watch may include outputting the digital watch or the analogwatch during a time or while power is supplied to the electronic device.The generating of the additional image may include generating theadditional image based on a signal generated every second by a clockgenerator in the display driving circuit.

According to various embodiments, the outputting of the main image dataon the display panel may include outputting the digital watch with oneof a row division type or a seven-segment type. The outputting of themain image data on the display panel may include drawing a second handimage of the analog watch using a line drawing method according to aBresenham algorithm.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an electronic device in a networkenvironment, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 16, there is illustrated an electronic device 2301 ina network environment 2300 according to various embodiments. Theelectronic device 2301 may include a bus 2310, a processor 2320, amemory 2330, an input/output (I/O) I/F 2350, a display 2360, and acommunication I/F 2370. According to an embodiment, the electronicdevice 2301 may not include at least one of the above-described elementsor may further include other element(s).

For example, the bus 2310 may interconnect the above-described elements2320 to 2370 and may include a circuit for conveying communications(e.g., a control message and/or data) among the above-describedelements.

The processor 2320 (e.g., the processor 110 of FIG. 1) may include oneor more of a CPU, an AP, or a CP. The processor 2320 may perform, forexample, data processing or an operation associated with control and/orcommunication of at least one other element(s) of the electronic device2301.

The memory 2330 (e.g., the memory 160 of FIG. 1) may include a volatileand/or nonvolatile memory. For example, the memory 2330 may storeinstructions or data associated with at least one other element(s) ofthe electronic device 2301. According to an embodiment, the memory 2330may store software and/or a program 2340. The program 2340 may include,for example, a kernel 2341, a middleware 2343, an applicationprogramming interface (API) 2345, and/or an application program (or“application”) 2347. At least a part of the kernel 2341, the middleware2343, or the API 2345 may be called an “operating system (OS)”.

The kernel 2341 may control or manage system resources (e.g., the bus2310, the processor 2320, the memory 2330, and the like) that are usedto execute operations or functions of other programs (e.g., themiddleware 2343, the API 2345, and the application program 2347).Furthermore, the kernel 2341 may provide an I/F that allows themiddleware 2343, the API 2345, or the application program 2347 to accessdiscrete elements of the electronic device 2301 so as to control ormanage system resources.

The middleware 2343 may perform a mediation role such that the API 2345or the application program 2347 communicates with the kernel 2341 toexchange data.

Furthermore, the middleware 2343 may process one or more task requestsreceived from the application program 2347 according to a priority. Forexample, the middleware 2343 may assign the priority, which makes itpossible to use a system resource (e.g., the bus 2310, the processor2320, the memory 2330, or the like) of the electronic device 2301, to atleast one of the application program 2347. For example, the middleware2343 may process the one or more task requests according to the priorityassigned to the at least one, which makes it possible to performscheduling or load balancing on the one or more task requests.

The API 2345 may be an I/F through which the application 2347 controls afunction provided by the kernel 2341 or the middleware 2343, and mayinclude, for example, at least one I/F or function (e.g., aninstruction) for a file control, a window control, image processing, acharacter control, or the like.

The I/O interface 2350 may transmit an instruction or data, input from auser or another external device, to other element(s) of the electronicdevice 2301. Furthermore, the I/O interface 2350 may output aninstruction or data, received from other element(s) of the electronicdevice 2301, to a user or another external device.

The display 2360 may include, for example, a liquid crystal display(LCD), an LED display, an OLED display, or a microelectromechanicalsystems (MEMS) display, or an electronic paper display. The display 2360may display, for example, various kinds of content (e.g., a text, animage, a video, an icon, a symbol, and the like) to a user. The display2360 may include a touch screen and may receive, for example, a touch,gesture, proximity, or hovering input using an electronic pen or aportion of a user's body.

The communication I/F 2370 may establish communication between theelectronic device 2301 and an external device (e.g., a first externalelectronic device 2302, a second external electronic device 2304, or aserver 2306). For example, the communication I/F 2370 may be connectedto a network 2362 through wireless communication or wired communicationto communicate with an external device (e.g., the second externalelectronic device 2304 or the server 2306).

The wireless communication may include at least one of, for example,long-term evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-A), code division multipleaccess (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), universal mobiletelecommunications system (UMTS), wireless broadband (WiBro), or globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), or the like, as cellularcommunication protocol. Furthermore, the wireless communication mayinclude, for example, a local area network 2364. The local area network2364 may include at least one of a Wi-Fi, a near field communication(NFC), or a GNSS, or the like. The GNSS may include at least one of aglobal positioning system (GPS), a global navigation satellite system(GLONASS), BeiDou navigation satellite system (hereinafter referred toas “BeiDou”), the European global satellite-based navigation system(Galileo), or the like. In this specification, “GPS” and “GNSS” may beinterchangeably used. The wired communication may include at least oneof, for example, a universal serial bus (USB), a high definitionmultimedia interface (HDMI), a recommended standard-232 (RS-232), aplain old telephone service (POTS), or the like. The network 2362 mayinclude at least one of telecommunications networks, for example, acomputer network (e.g., local area network (LAN) or wide area network(WAN)), an internet, or a telephone network.

Each of the first and second external electronic devices 2302 and 2304may be a device of which the type is different from or the same as thatof the electronic device 2301. According to an embodiment, the server2306 may include a group of one or more servers. According to variousembodiments, all or a portion of operations that the electronic device2301 will perform may be executed by another or plural electronicdevices (e.g., the electronic devices 2302 and 2304 or the server 2306).According to an embodiment, in the case where the electronic device 2301executes any function or service automatically or in response to arequest, the electronic device 2301 may not perform the function or theservice internally, but, alternatively additionally, it may request atleast a part of a function associated with the electronic device 101 atother device (e.g., the electronic device 2302 or 2304 or the server2306). The other electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 2302 or2304 or the server 2306) may execute the requested function oradditional function and may transmit the execution result to theelectronic device 2301. The electronic device 2301 may provide therequested function or service using the received result or mayadditionally process the received result to provide the requestedfunction or service. To this end, for example, cloud computing,distributed computing, or client-server computing may be used.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 17, an electronic device 2401 may include, forexample, all or a part of the electronic device 241 illustrated inFIG. 1. The electronic device 2401 may include one or more processors(e.g., an AP) 2410, a communication module 2420, a subscriberidentification module (SIM) 2424, a memory 2430, a sensor module 2440,an input device 2450, a display 2460, an I/F 2470, an audio module 2480,a camera module 2491, a power management module 2495, a battery 2496, anindicator 2497, and a motor 2498.

The processor 2410 may drive an OS or an application to control aplurality of hardware or software elements connected to the processor2410 and may process and compute a variety of data. The processor 2410may be implemented with a system on chip (SoC), for example. Accordingto an embodiment, the processor 2410 may further include a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU) and/or an image signal processor. The processor2410 may include at least a part (e.g., a cellular module 2421) ofelements illustrated in FIG. 17. The processor 2410 may load and processan instruction or data, which is received from at least one of otherelements (e.g., a nonvolatile memory) and may store a variety of data ina nonvolatile memory.

The communication module 2420 may be configured the same as or similarto the communication I/F 2370 of FIG. 16. The communication module 2420may include a cellular module 2421, a Wi-Fi module 2423, a Bluetooth(BT) module 2425, a GNSS module 2427 (e.g., a GPS module, a GLONASSmodule, a BeiDou module, or a Galileo module), an NFC module 2428, and aradio frequency (RF) module 2429.

The cellular module 2421 may provide voice communication, videocommunication, a message service, an internet service or the likethrough a communication network. According to an embodiment, thecellular module 2421 may perform discrimination and authentication ofthe electronic device 2401 within a communication network using the SIM2424 (e.g., a SIM card), for example. According to an embodiment, thecellular module 2421 may perform at least a portion of functions thatthe processor 2410 provides. According to an embodiment, the cellularmodule 2421 may include a CP.

Each of the Wi-Fi module 2423, the BT module 2425, the GNSS module 2427,and the NFC module 2428 may include a processor for processing dataexchanged through a corresponding module, for example. According to anembodiment, at least a part (e.g., two or more elements) of the cellularmodule 2421, the Wi-Fi module 2423, the BT module 2425, the GNSS module2427, or the NFC module 2428 may be included within one IC or an ICpackage.

The RF module 2429 may transmit and receive, for example, acommunication signal (e.g., an RF signal). The RF module 2429 mayinclude, for example, a transceiver, a power amplifier module (PAM), afrequency filter, a low noise amplifier (LNA), an antenna, or the like.According to an embodiment, at least one of the cellular module 2421,the Wi-Fi module 2423, the BT module 2425, the GNSS module 2427, or theNFC module 2428 may transmit and receive an RF signal through a separateRF module.

The SIM 2424 may include, for example, a card and/or embedded SIM thatincludes a SIM and may include unique identify information (e.g., ICcard identifier (ICCID)) or subscriber information (e.g., internationalmobile subscriber identity (IMSI)).

The memory 2430 (e.g., the memory 2330) may include an internal memory2432 or an external memory 2434. For example, the internal memory 2432may include at least one of a volatile memory (e.g., a dynamic RAM(DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), or a synchronous DRAM (SDRAM)), anonvolatile memory (e.g., a one-time programmable read only memory(OTPROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable and programmable ROM(EPROM), an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), a maskROM, a flash ROM, a flash memory (e.g., a NAND flash memory, or a NORflash memory), a hard drive, or a solid state drive (SSD).

The external memory 2434 may include a flash drive, for example, compactflash (CF), secure digital (SD), micro-SD, mini-SD, extreme digital(xD), multimedia card (MMC), a memory stick, or the like. The externalmemory 2434 may be functionally and/or physically connected with theelectronic device 2401 through various I/Fs.

The sensor module 2440 may measure, for example, a physical quantity ormay detect an operation state of the electronic device 2401. The sensormodule 2440 may convert the measured or detected information to anelectric signal. The sensor module 2440 may include at least one of agesture sensor 2440A, a gyro sensor 2440B, a barometric pressure sensor2440C, a magnetic sensor 2440D, an acceleration sensor 2440E, a gripsensor 2440F, a proximity sensor 2440G, a color sensor 2440H (e.g., red,green, blue (RGB) sensor), a biometric sensor 2440I, atemperature/humidity sensor 2440J, an illuminance sensor 2440K, or anultraviolet (UV) sensor 2440M. Even though not illustrated, additionallyor alternatively, the sensor module 2440 may include, for example, anE-nose sensor, an electromyography sensor (EMG) sensor, anelectroencephalogram (EEG) sensor, an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, aninfrared (IR) sensor, an iris sensor, and/or a fingerprint sensor. Thesensor module 2440 may further include a control circuit for controllingat least one or more sensors included therein. According to anembodiment, the electronic device 2401 may further include a processorwhich is a part of the processor 2410 or independent of the processor2410 and is configured to control the sensor module 2440. The processormay control the sensor module 2440 while the processor 2410 remains at asleep state.

The input device 2450 may include, for example, a touch panel 2452, a(digital) pen sensor 2454, a key 2456, or an ultrasonic input unit 2458.The touch panel 2452 may use at least one of capacitive, resistive,infrared and ultrasonic detecting methods. Also, the touch panel 2452may further include a control circuit. The touch panel 2452 may furtherinclude a tactile layer to provide a tactile reaction to a user.

The (digital) pen sensor 2454 may be, for example, a portion of a touchpanel or may include an additional sheet for recognition. The key 2456may include, for example, a physical button, an optical key, a keypad,or the like. The ultrasonic input device 2458 may detect (or sense) anultrasonic signal, which is generated from an input device, through amicrophone (e.g., a microphone 2488) and may check data corresponding tothe detected ultrasonic signal.

The display 2460 (e.g., the display 2360) may include a panel 2462, ahologram device 2464, or a projector 2466. The panel 2462 may beconfigured the same as or similar to the display 2360 of FIG. 16. Thepanel 2462 may be implemented to be flexible, transparent or wearable,for example. The panel 2462 and the touch panel 2452 may be integratedinto a single module. The hologram device 2464 may display astereoscopic image in a space using a light interference phenomenon. Theprojector 2466 may project light onto a screen so as to display animage. The screen may be arranged inside or outside the electronicdevice 2401. According to an embodiment, the display 2460 may furtherinclude a control circuit for controlling the panel 2462, the hologramdevice 2464, or the projector 2466.

The I/F 2470 may include, for example, an HDMI 2472, a USB 2474, anoptical I/F 2476, or a D-subminiature (D-sub) 2478. The I/F 2470 may beincluded, for example, in the communication I/F 2370 illustrated in FIG.16. Additionally or alternatively, the I/F 2470 may include, forexample, a mobile high definition link (MHL) I/F, an SD card/MMC I/F, oran infrared data association (IrDA) standard I/F.

The audio module 2480 may convert a sound and an electrical signal indual directions. At least a part of the audio module 2480 may beincluded, for example, in the I/O interface 2350 illustrated in FIG. 16.The audio module 2480 may process, for example, sound information thatis input or output through a speaker 2482, a receiver 2484, an earphone2486, or a microphone 2488.

The camera module 2491 for shooting a still image or a video mayinclude, for example, at least one image sensor (e.g., a front sensor ora rear sensor), a lens, an image signal processor (ISP), or a flash(e.g., an LED or a xenon lamp).

The power management module 2495 may manage, for example, power of theelectronic device 2401. According to an embodiment, a power managementIC (PMIC) a charger IC, or a battery or fuel gauge may be included inthe power management module 2495. The PMIC may have a wired chargingmethod and/or a wireless charging method. The wireless charging methodmay include, for example, a magnetic resonance method, a magneticinduction method or an electromagnetic method and may further include anadditional circuit, for example, a coil loop, a resonant circuit, arectifier, or the like. The battery gauge may measure, for example, aremaining capacity of the battery 2496 and a voltage, current ortemperature thereof while the battery is charged. The battery 2496 mayinclude, for example, a rechargeable battery or a solar battery.

The indicator 2497 may display a specific state of the electronic device2401 or a part thereof (e.g., the processor 2410), such as a bootingstate, a message state, a charging state, and the like. The motor 2498may convert an electrical signal into a mechanical vibration and maygenerate a vibration effect, a haptic effect, or the like. Even thoughnot illustrated, a processing device (e.g., a GPU) for supporting amobile TV may be included in the electronic device 2401. The processingdevice for supporting a mobile TV may process media data according tothe standards of digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), digital videobroadcasting (DVB), MediaFlo™, or the like.

Each of the above-mentioned elements may be configured with one or morecomponents, and the names of the elements may be changed according tothe type of the electronic device. The electronic device according tovarious embodiments may include at least one of the above-mentionedelements, and some elements may be omitted or other additional elementsmay be added. Furthermore, some of the elements of the electronic deviceaccording to various embodiments may be combined with each other so asto form one entity, so that the functions of the elements may beperformed in the same manner as before the combination.

According to various embodiments, an electronic device may include afirst processor, a second processor configured to be independent of thefirst processor and to perform calculation for a function, a displaydriving circuit, and a display panel, wherein the display drivingcircuit receives main image data over a first channel from the firstprocessor or the second processor and outputs a main image based on themain image data, and wherein the display driving circuit generates anadditional image different from the main image, merges the main imagewith the additional image, and outputs the merged image on the displaypanel.

According to various embodiments, the display driving circuit receives acontrol signal over a second channel from the first processor or thesecond processor and generates the additional image based on the controlsignal.

According to various embodiments, the display driving circuit mayinclude an I/F module configured to receive data from the firstprocessor or the second processor, a sub-display driving circuitconfigured to generate the additional image, a multiplexer configured tomerge the main image with the additional image, and a source driver anda gate driver configured to drive the display panel.

According to various embodiments, the display driving circuit mayfurther include a first graphic RAM configured to store the main imagedata, and an image processing module configured to convert the mainimage data.

According to various embodiments, the I/F module may include a highspeed I/F configured to receive the main image data, and a low speed I/Fconfigured to receive a control signal from the first processor or thesecond processor.

According to various embodiments, the display driving circuit mayfurther include a clock generator configured to provide a clock signalto the sub-display driving circuit.

According to various embodiments, the sub-display driving circuit mayinclude a second graphic RAM configured to be independent of the firstgraphic RAM, and the second graphic RAM stores at least part of the mainimage data.

According to various embodiments, the sub-display driving circuit mayfurther include a magnification adjusting unit configured to adjust amagnification of the image data stored in the second graphic RAM.

According to various embodiments, the sub-display driving circuitreceives data corresponding to at least part of the main image data fromat least one of the I/F module, the first graphic RAM, or the imageprocessing module.

According to various embodiments, the sub-display driving circuitgenerates the additional image by adjusting an output form of the imagedata stored in the second graphic RAM.

According to various embodiments, the sub-display driving circuitdetermines a range of the main image data to be stored in the secondgraphic RAM in response to an input of a user of the electronic device.

According to various embodiments, the sub-display driving circuitdynamically changes the additional image in output size based on atleast one of a type of the input or duration.

The term “module” used in this disclosure may represent, for example, aunit including one or more combinations of hardware, software andfirmware. For example, the term “module” may be interchangeably usedwith the terms “unit”, “logic”, “logical block”, “component” and“circuit”. The “module” may be a minimum unit of an integrated componentor may be a part thereof. The “module” may be a minimum unit forperforming one or more functions or a part thereof. The “module” may beimplemented mechanically or electronically. For example, the “module”may include at least one of an application-specific IC (ASIC) chip, afield-programmable gate array (FPGA), and a programmable-logic devicefor performing some operations, which are known or will be developed.

At least a portion of an apparatus (e.g., modules or functions thereof)or a method (e.g., operations) according to various embodiments may be,for example, implemented by instructions stored in a computer-readablestorage media in the form of a program module. The instruction, whenexecuted by a processor (e.g., the processor 2320), may cause the one ormore processors to perform a function corresponding to the instruction.The computer-readable storage media, for example, may be the memory2330.

The computer-readable storage media according to various embodiments maystore a program for executing an operation in which a communicationmodule receives an application package from an external device andprovides the application package to a normal module of a processor, anoperation in which the normal module determines whether a secureapplication is included in at least a portion of the applicationpackage, and an operation in which the secure module of the processorinstalls the secure application in the secure module or in a memoryassociated with the secure module.

The computer-readable storage media may include a hard disk, a floppydisk, a magnetic media (e.g., a magnetic tape), an optical media (e.g.,a compact disc ROM (CD-ROM) and a DVD), a magneto-optical media (e.g., afloptical disk), and hardware devices (e.g., a ROM, a RAM, or a flashmemory). Also, a program instruction may include not only a mechanicalcode such as things generated by a compiler but also a high-levellanguage code executable on a computer using an interpreter. Theabove-mentioned hardware devices may be configured to operate as one ormore software modules to perform operations according to variousembodiments, and vice versa.

Modules or program modules according to various embodiments may includeat least one or more of the above-mentioned elements, some of theabove-mentioned elements may be omitted, or other additional elementsmay be further included therein. Operations executed by modules, programmodules, or other elements according to various embodiments may beexecuted by a successive method, a parallel method, a repeated method,or a heuristic method. Also, a part of operations may be executed indifferent sequences, omitted, or other operations may be added.

According to various embodiments, the display driving circuit of theelectronic device may generate and output an additional image forproviding additional information to the user through simple calculation.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device may reduce thenumber of times of driving the AP and may provide a fast response speed.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device may output adigital watch or an analog watch which may provide an output of a secondhand, and may implement an always-on display by reducing the number oftimes of driving the AP and reducing battery consumption.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device may quicklyoutput a zoomed-in image for a portion the user wants using the displaydriving circuit and may reduce the number of times of driving the AP ora time when the AP is driven.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a processor; adisplay panel including a curved boundary; and a display driving circuitincluding a clock generator to generate a clock signal, wherein thedisplay driving circuit is configured to: display, via the displaypanel, a screen image, obtain from the processor a control signal andmain image data corresponding to the screen image displayed via thedisplay panel, generate a main image using the main image data, and anadditional image related to the screen image according to the controlsignal, generate a merged screen image using the main image and theadditional image according to the clock signal, display the mergedscreen image via the display panel instead of the screen image, at leasttemporarily, such that at least one portion of a curved peripheral areaof the merged screen image is aligned with the curved boundary of thedisplay panel.
 2. The portable communication device of claim 1, whereinthe display driving circuit is configured to: perform the displaying ofthe merged screen image such that the at least one portion of the curvedperipheral area is displayed in a plurality of colors.
 3. The portablecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the display driving circuit isconfigured to: stop the generating of the merged screen image based atleast in part on receiving another main image data corresponding to theadditional image from the processor.
 4. The portable communicationdevice of claim 1, wherein the display driving circuit is configured to:perform the generating of the merged screen image at a specified time ora specified frame.
 5. The portable communication device of claim 1,wherein the curved boundary of the display panel is substantiallycircular, and wherein the display driving circuit is configured to:perform the displaying of the merged screen image such that the curvedperipheral area of the merged screen image is aligned with asubstantially entire area of the curved boundary of the display panel.6. The portable communication device of claim 1, wherein the additionalimage is a circular image, and wherein the control signal includesinformation about a radius of the circular image.
 7. The portablecommunication device of claim 6, wherein the display driving circuit isconfigured to: display pixels at a first distance from a center of thecircular image using a first color; and display pixels at a seconddistance from the center of the circular image using a second color. 8.The portable communication device of claim 7, wherein the seconddistance is greater than the first distance.
 9. The portablecommunication device of claim 7, wherein the first color is black andthe second color is gray.
 10. The portable communication device of claim1, wherein the display driving circuit is configured to: obtain the mainimage data from the processor at a first speed; and obtain the controlsignal from the processor at a second speed.
 11. The portablecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the display driving circuit isconfigured to: obtain the main image data from the processor via a firstsignal path; and obtain the control signal from the processor via asecond signal path.
 12. The portable communication device of claim 1,wherein the display driving circuit includes a source driver to be usedto output the merged screen image via the display panel.
 13. Anelectronic device comprising: a processor; a display panel including acurved boundary; and a display driving circuit, wherein the displaydriving circuit is configured to: obtain from the processor main imagedata corresponding to a first image, display, via the display panel, thefirst image using the main image data, obtain from the processor acontrol signal comprising anti-aliasing processing information, generatean additional image related to the first image according to the controlsignal, wherein the additional image is an anti-aliased image accordingto the control signal, generate a second image by merging the firstimage and the additional image, and display the second image via thedisplay panel instead of the first image, at least temporarily, suchthat at least one portion of a curved peripheral area of the secondimage is aligned with the curved boundary of the display panel.
 14. Amethod for operating an electronic device comprising: obtaining, by adisplay driving circuit of the electronic device, main image datacorresponding to a screen image from a processor of the electronicdevice; displaying, by the display driving circuit, the screen imageusing the main image data via a display panel of the electronic device;obtaining, by the display driving circuit, a control signal comprisinganti-aliasing processing information from the processor; generating, bythe display driving circuit, an additional image related to the screenimage according to the control signal, wherein the additional image isan anti-aliased image according to the control signal; generating, bythe display driving circuit, a merged screen image using the screenimage and the additional image according to a clock signal generated inthe display driving circuit; and displaying, by the display drivingcircuit, the merged screen image instead of the screen image, at leasttemporarily, such that at least one portion of a curved peripheral areaof the merged screen image is aligned with a curved boundary of thedisplay panel.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the displaying of themerged screen image is further comprising: displaying, by the displaydriving circuit, the additional image using a plurality of colors. 16.The method of claim 14, further comprising: stopping, by the displaydriving circuit, the generating of the merged screen image based atleast in part on receiving another main image data from the processor.17. The method of claim 14, wherein generating the merged screen imageis further comprising: generating, by the display driving circuit, themerged screen image at a specified time or a specified frame.
 18. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the curved boundary of the display panel issubstantially circular, and wherein the displaying of the merged screenimage is further comprising: displaying, by the display driving circuit,the merged screen image such that the curved peripheral area of themerged screen image is aligned with a substantially entire area of thecurved boundary of the display panel.
 19. The method of claim 14,wherein the additional image is a circular image, and wherein thecontrol signal includes information about a radius of the circularimage.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the displaying of the mergedscreen image is further comprising: displaying, by the display drivingcircuit, pixels at a first distance from a center of the circular imageusing a first color; and displaying, by the display driving circuit,pixels at a second distance from the center of the circular image usinga second color.